I pulled it on over the ridiculous dress. “So, Windsor? Shopping…” I said, trying to start a conversation.
“Nope, Oxford Street. You know, London?”
Ah. Gabriel would not be pleased, but I didn’t want to put her out.
“And don’t even think about telling Gabriel.”
Brooke drove the car as if she were competing in the Grand Prix, eventually breaking the speed limit considerably. The landscape in London was vastly different from that of Hedgerley. I swapped views of endless greens for built-up concrete and towering buildings. Brooke blared some rock band or another and as the song hit the chorus, I recognized it to be the same band that Jonah had played in the Range Rover.
Turning down the volume, I said, “I didn’t see Jonah this morning. Is he okay?”
Brooke’s face strained for a moment before she replied, “He’s fine. He’s been out feeding more than usual, so he hasn’t been in the house much since we got back.”
She made no attempt to water down his eating habits; I quite liked how straight-talking she was. It was easy to see that she hadn’t taken kindly to my arrival, but the fact that she cared so little about me actually endeared her to me somewhat. Brooke didn’t give me a chance to respond, turning the volume back up and placing her large black Dior sunglasses over her eyes from on top of her head.
* * *
IT WAS DECEMBER and Christmas shopping was in full swing on Oxford Street. We’d been on the go for about four hours and though Brooke was laden with bags, I had only managed to muster up the energy to pick out a simple, long woolen coat and a pair of flat, plain shoes. I was entirely practical about clothing, living in sweaters and jeans. Brooke, on the other hand, was anything but practical when it came to her purchases, selecting only expensive designer shops to grace with her presence. I had spent some time complimenting Brooke on her various outfit changes, and she seemed a little happier with me and offered to take me to a coffee shop for some tea and cake.
As I sat in the far corner of Starbucks, mug of tea and pastry in hand, my attention briefly caught on a light bouncing off the window; but when I looked again, it was gone.
Brooke slid into the cushioned seat in front of me and watched, barely moving, as I added several sugars to my tea.
“Right, the next few hours we are dedicating to finding you some clothes. Gabriel will be rather displeased with me if I return you with one measly jacket!”
“One measly jacket? It’s Chanel! Did you see the price tag?” I said. I was ashamed at having let Brooke coerce me into purchasing something so expensive on Gabriel’s shiny gold card.
“Money is hardly relevant. We have bigger concerns.”
“Such as?” I asked, taking a small bite out of the éclair that had tempted my appetite.
“Such as existing each day trying not to kill anyone,” she whispered.
I almost thought she was trying to scare me off, so I replied showing as little emotion as possible. “But you do … kill?”
“Yes, sometimes it happens. We only feed when we have to—a must-need basis, if you know what I mean. Not for sport. It’s the way things have to be. Gabriel wouldn’t tolerate us otherwise. He’s an Angel, you know,” she added with a grin.
“I heard.”
She looked annoyed that she hadn’t been the one to deliver the news, but she pushed on. “So, human girl, what’s the deal with you anyway?” she asked, fussing with her hair.
“No deal. Just wrong place, wrong time, I guess,” I said, trying to be casual.
“Been there!” She laughed, but sadness turned the edges of her lips.
I didn’t think now was the time to ask her how she had come to be a Vampire.
“Hmm … So why are we hiding you? What’s so special about you, that you have Purebloods on your heel?” She lowered her tone. “And why is Gabriel so protective of you?”
I could have smiled when she said the last part; it made me happy to think she knew he cared. “I guess he feels that keeping me safe is only fair. As you say, he’s an Angel; he’s obliged to do the right thing.”
I almost wondered myself if that’s all there was to it, despite our history. Maybe he was just obliged; he had commented that he had a penance to pay.
“I’m not sure why they’re trying to find me. Perhaps they’re mad that I helped Jonah escape? As I said—wrong place, wrong time.”
At the mention of Jonah, Brooke’s limited attention span perked up. “Well, I guess we have you to thank for that. We wouldn’t have wanted to lose him.” She moved her neck and rubbed her shoulder.
“Are you and Jonah an item?” I asked, attempting to flatter her. I didn’t think they were, but I hoped to encourage her to drop her guard.
“Oh, well, no. But we are closer than you could imagine! He actually saved me from … well, you know. I’m sure he wants me, and maybe we would be together, if we could be.” She quickened her sentence defensively.
“I’m sure, but he’s a bit older than you though, isn’t he?”
“Depends how you look at it. I guess so. But that’s not why we can’t be together.”
She ended her sentence abruptly, as if she had said too much.
Can’t? I blew on my tea and sipped it, casually slipping in a “Why?”
“Just the way things are. Vampires”—she lowered her voice once more—“can’t be with other Vampires, physically. It’s sort of forbidden. But you know a Vampire could never be with a human either. Not really, it’d never work out,” she said, pretending to look through the tops of her shopping bags.
“Well, what human would want to go out with Jonah!” I said. I giggled, trying to break the tension; I was afraid she might close up.
Feeling less threatened, she attempted a smile.
“Why is it forbidden?” I pushed, taking another bite out of my creamy bun.
“You’re new to all this so I’ll cut to the chase. You’ll never see many girls—well, girls like me. Very few are created, or so I’m told. If a male and female were to give in to their desires they would likely end up”—she pointed at my cup—“you know, what you’re doing now, from each other.”
“And that’s a problem?”
“Because of what runs through our blood, yes. One feeding off the other is one thing but that sensation would lead to both feeding from one another. At that point, neither would be able to stop. The power of each individual would be transferring, mixing between the two. Ultimately one would be ended. The males are more powerful so inevitably it’s the female that gets it.” She was enthusiastically explaining now, enjoying my reactions.